​July 4th, five years after the Exes started to bring terror to the nation, the group at the Mount sets up a celebration for the survivors that are housed within the complex’s walls. St. George and Stealth sit upon the wall watching as their wrath partner Zzzap puts on a fireworks display just outside of the atmosphere. The celebration is not only about their independence, but the group’s survival from the last battle with the Seventeens along with their ex-counterparts that were controlled by their fallen leader, Peasy. 

A majority of the Seventeens moved into the Mount after their defeat and had agreed to work within the system put in place by the Heroes, but some of them do not feel as if they are being utilized to their fullest capacity yet. Like young Caeser, the Driver, who is able to meld into any vehicle that has an engine and take control. This sparks a heated discussion about the usage of their new arrivals between St. George and Stealth, why not utilize these young fighters on their scavenger runs and on the walls to protect the city? Stealth is still not sure, and as being the leader of the Mount, she has little trust for anyone that has not proved themselves yet, at least to her.

The group heads out onto their next scavenger run and everything seems to be going fine, until they notice a Predator Drone overhead that seems to be tracking the movements of their group. Zzzap follows the drone back to its base and reports back to the Mount with the news. It returned to an active military base. Excited about the news that there are more survivors and a possibility to receive some help, the Hero group wants to relay the news to the rest of the community in the Mount, but Stealth still remains hesitant. What if this is a trap? What if they come in and take our power away? What if they want to remove us altogether? Stealth’s worries for everyone’s wellbeing in the Mount may be noble, but she is losing her fanfare with survivors.

Helicopters move over the Mount, filled with soldiers from Section 456, lovingly called the Unbreakables, led by Captain Freedom. These are the biggest, fastest, strongest men any of the Heroes have encountered outside of super humans. The Unbreakables came out of the latest super solider program called Project Krypton, improving normal men into unbeatable, super strong soldiers that would only do right for the country and its values. Although the project was shut down when the country collapsed, this group has stayed together with the help of a liaison named John Smith.  Smith looks around the battered living areas of the Mount and is taken back to see that one of his past contacts, Cerberus, has been living in the Mount since the outbreak. Earning a bit of trust, Smith convinces the team to come visit the base and see what help he and his band of super soldiers can provide for their future. But his real intentions for offering ‘help’ will not be revealed until it is far too late.

In Peter Clines second installment, Ex-Patriots takes you on more of a ride than Ex-Heroes. You are already bought into the heroes, so now you are thrown into their upcoming challenges to keep their survivors alive and prospering. Any help should be good, but with a government entity coming into their home, they have no reason to trust or respect the call of martial law that is laid down before them. The super soldiers, followed by their creator Dr. Sorensen are looking to rebuild the country with the help of the heroes, or at least one. The base is being also manned by Exes with little control units called Nests created by the good doctor, but what is unknown by everyone is the deal the doctor made to make this invention work. 

Another fun zombie novel by Clines. You are able to get your action, adventure and comedic feel from this book and you would not want it any other way. Following the hero’s along with the wise cracking Zzzap, you are willing to keep the pages turning to find out what will happen with their resistance to the man, the exes and a fallen leader. Sit back and enjoy as zombies get taken out, but don’t you worry, there are always enough left for another sequel. 

Welcome to Los Angeles, the City of Angels, the land of movies, super stars, Superheroes and yes, Zombies. A band of superheroes have joined forces to secure the Paramount movie studio to provide safe haven for those in the city that have not been infected by the virus. The affectionately named ‘Mount’ has living and farming quarters to house a number of survivors left in the city, but there is not enough food or supplies on hand to sustain this way of life. Supply runs become vital to the community and with Heroes at their backs, the people feel secure in all of their ventures outside of the walls.

On the group’s latest supply run, they encounter something that they have never seen before, road blocks with cars piled six to eight high. Dismissing this as an act of desperation from the other non-dead group that inhabits Los Angeles, St. George, aka the Mighty Dragon tears the detour apart so the group can continue on their run without being attacked by the undead. The zombies are called Exes, from the last presidential address concerning the outbreak, and since they were referred to as Ex-Living or Ex-People, the term was adopted. Besides the unexpected road block, the supply run goes according to plan, until their return home.

The other undead group in L.A., the Seventeens hit the supply group by disabling their truck and using a signal jammer to cut off any communications back to the Mount to call for reinforcements. The group battles the Seventeens and the Exes and tries to survive until any type of help will arrive. St. George is impervious to gunfire and bites, and with his super strength, he leads the charge in protecting the group. Cerberus, a woman in a cybernetic suit takes up arms against the attackers as well utilizing her strength to battle off the Exes while her suit still contains a charge, or until help arrives.

When help finally arrives, the big guns are drawn out and the attacking Seventeens and Exes are mowed down in the streets. Upon the group’s retreat back to the Mount, they manage to obtain two survivors from the Seventeens to be held for questioning. The two are not very helpful in the long run, as they both commit suicide in their holding cells. When they reanimate however, they do not respond as normal Exes, instead of trying to bite and kill, they only want to relay a bone chilling message from their leader; a villain with super powers who is also a member of the undead.

Ex-Heroes will take you on a thrilling ride through post-apocalyptic Los Angeles, complete with two groups battling for survival, dominance and revenge.  Following the group from the Mount, you see the battle unwrap from the eyes of the superheroes that only want to protect the living. We meet the leader of the group, Stealth, a smart, attractive and athletic woman who is rarely wrong, and we spend time with St. George, who has the power of flight and super human strength, and there’s Zzzap, who can only be qualified as a very tiny G-Class star and Gorgon, who can drain the energy from his intended by making eye contact with them. Trying to survive the attacks from the undead and now the Seventeens, Gorgon has a price on his head from embarrassing the Seventeens’ leader before the world changed. There will not be peace between the two groups until this superhero is turned over to the group and their revenge has been served.

Superheroes versus Zombies, who could ask for anything better? This is just a fun read that takes you into battle with those you believe to be invulnerable and see how they handle the destruction and protection of a city. You also get battles with Super Villains, undead Super Villains that have embraced their change and fight for their type of justice. Comic book fans out there, it is not DC or Marvel, but you get some great young characters in this book and their battle with the undead is just a joy to read. Picking this book up will not disappoint but may leave you longing for the next one. Happy Reading.